The armory center for the arts will implement the sowing seeds initiative, a three-year series of community-driven, multi-generational arts education programs

The Armory Center for the Arts was awarded a $1,028,504 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museums for America federal grant program (CFDA 45.301) to implement the Sowing Seeds initiative. The three-year initiative will provide multi-generational arts education programs both in school and out focusing on the historical, present, and future uses of seeds in diverse communities. With a full-time artist-in-residence, the Armory Center will engage the Pasadena Unified School District and community members to plan and produce learning opportunities for adults, families, and youth. The project team will work with a Tongva cultural advisor to incorporate Indigenous voices and allow participants to connect with the local land and Tongva community to learn about the flora and fauna while building skills to protect nature. The grant will support delivery of the Sowing Seeds initiative from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2025 in Pasadena, California.

The initiative will include both in-school and out-of-school programs centering on the ways seeds are used and shared by diverse communities in the past, present, and future. With the hire of a full-time artist-in-residence, the museum will engage with community members and the pasadena unified school district to plan and produce the programs for adults, families, and young people in a variety of different learning environments. The project team will work closely with a tongva cultural advisor to ensure inclusion of first world voices in the curriculum. Participants throughout the greater SAN gabriel valley will connect with the land and the tongva community, learn about the flora and fauna, and build new skills to protect nature and the environment.